Battle of Belleau Wood

The Battle of Belleau Wood was fought from 1 to 26 June 1918 during the German Spring Offensive on the Western Front of World War I. Belleau Wood marked the United States' first major battle during the war, and the US Marine Corps's bravery and ferocity at Belleau Wood earned them the nickname "Devil Dogs" from their German opponents.

Background
German offensives in spring 1918 banked on US troops not being fully deployed. In fact, they were ready for action by May. The United States declared war on Germany in April 1917. However, the recruitment and training of an American Expeditionary Force (AEF) proceeded slowly. The AEF's commander, General John J. Pershing, wanted a US army to fight as an independent force and resisted pressure to provide units for British and French armies. The crisis caused by the German Michael Offensive in March 1918 and subsequent offensives in Flanders and at the Aisne necessitated a change in US policy.

Battle
Half a million American soldiers had arrived in France by the start of May 1918. Although some divisions had spent time in trenches on quiet sectors of the front, none had entered battle.

The German breakthrough at the Aisne River on 27 May brought US forces into action for the first time, in support of the French. The next day, elements of the US 1st Infantry Division fought the Germans at Cantigny, 20 miles southeast of Amiens.

As the Germans advanced to the Marne River, just 50 miles from Paris, French commander-in-chief Philippe Petain called upon US assistance again. In response, commander of the American Expeditionary Force (AEF), General John J. Pershing, rushed the US Second and Third Divisions to the Marne. Fighting alongside French colonial troops, the Third Division fought a successful holding action against the Germans at Chateau-Thierry on the Marne on 31 May.

In the first days of June, the Second Division dug in along the front to the left of the Third Division. The division, which included a brigade of Marines under Brigadier-General James Harbord, took up position opposite Belleau Wood, a few miles west of Chateau-Thierry. On 3-4 June, the Germans attacked in strength but were repelled by the French and Americans. German troops advancing out of Belleau Wood were cut down by marine rifle fire. During this engagement, the marines rejected advice from the French to conduct a tactical withdrawal. Marine Captain Lloyd Williams allegedly responded, "Retreat? Hell, we just got here."

Ferocious combat
The German failure on 4 June was a sign that the offensive launched at the Aisne eight days earlier was stalling. The French identified the moment as ripe for a counterattack and the Americans complied. The counterattack was launched at dawn on 6 June, with the US Marines and Third Infantry Brigade attacking Belleau Wood and a nearby position known as Hill 142. Although the US troops had already demonstrated their fighting spirit, their shortage of combat experience was now evident. The attacks showed neither the tight cooperation between artillery and infantry nor the sophisticated infantry tactics that the British, French, and Germans had developed during the war. The Americans behaved as soldiers had in 1914, advancing in dense waves across open ground. The wheat fields were soon thick with dead and wounded US troops, the Marines suffering over 1,000 casualties over the course of the day. The Americans nonetheless took Hill 142 and penetrated the German defenses in Belleau Wood, engaging the enemy at close quarters.

Allied successes
The bloody battle for Belleau Wood and the nearby villages of Vaux and Bouresche continued for another 20 days, with desperate attacks and counterattacks by both sides. At times, there was hand-to-hand fighting. German troops learned a healthy respect for their American opponents, especially the Marines. Belleau Wood was in American hands on 26 June. By then, US troops had also helped the French repulse the Germans at the Battle of Matz (9-12 June) on the Matz River. The German advance towards Paris had been brought to a halt. With increasing numbers of US troops arriving in France - the size of the AEF passed a million men in July - any serious possibility of Germany winning the war had evaporated.

Aftermath
General Erich Ludendorff refused to accept that his offensive policy on the Western Front had failed. In July, Ludendorff launched yet another ambitious offensive, precipitating the Second Battle of the Marne. The German attack failed and a French-led counteroffensive then turned the tables, forcing the Germans to withdraw from the ground they had won in late May. With limited manpower, Germany could not cope with huge troop losses, a situation made worse by the onset of a deadly influenza epidemic. An Allied offensive at Amiens in August proved a success. In September, General Pershing launched the first American-led operation at the St. Mihiel salient, followed by the larger Meuse-Argonne Offensive.